Pretty Good in Green
by just call me Cappy
Summary: There are several things Kallen wouldn't be caught dead wearing, and one of them is the cloak of a Knight of Rounds. Unless, of course, it's the only thing left to wear ... GinoxKallen


Kallen slowly surfaced from the depths of sleep, drifting in and out of wakefulness and dreaming. She could feel the sun streaming into the quiet room and relaxed, basking in the buttery warmth. The only sound breaking the quiet of the room was the muted ticking of a nearby wall clock.

She was at complete peace with the world. Although she had a nagging feeling that something happened last night -- something important -- she chose to ignore it and live in the moment, soaking up the rare moment of peace and quiet.

But her thoughts of relaxation were interrupted when she became aware of another person not too far from her, breathing in an out so gently, she couldn't hear it at first. Lazily she tilted her head sideways and opened an eye, which soon widened in dramatic surprise.

Only a few inches in front of her was a mass of summery blond hair, framing a peacefully sleeping face. At the sight of that painfully familiar, annoyingly handsome smile, Kallen frowned.

_Oh God,_ she thought, sighing, as the memories of the previous night came crashing into her, _of all the people I find myself waking up next to in the morning, it has to be a Brittanian._

_And the bloody Knight of Three, to be exact._

Realizing something important, Kallen blinked, lifted the sheets and glanced down.

_Yep. Definitely naked._ She rolled her eyes and groaned inwardly.

Casting a withering glance at the man still peacefully sleeping beside her, she made a start to get up, get dressed, and get _out_ of there before Gino woke up and made a big deal about whatever happened last night.

But he was lying on his stomach, his arms crossed under his pillow, face tilted to the side, looking so utterly guileless Kallen had to stop for a second glance. His braids had come halfway undone and spilled across his broad back and shoulders, and his hair, usually so neat and brushed back, fell artistically across his face, annoying her to no end how innocently cherubic he could look without even trying.

Realizing she had been staring too long, Kallen caught herself and slowly made her way out of bed. She pushed whatever memories from last night and any other inappropriate thoughts far from her head, concentrating only on getting out of there as silently and quickly as possible.

_Where are my clothes?_

The only item of clothing on the floor was Gino's Knight of Rounds cape, lying in a silken, crumpled, emerald-green mess at her feet. She frowned, hesitated for a moment, before bending down and picking it up. _This'll do._

As she tentatively draped it over her shoulders and rose from the bed, she suddenly felt someone grabbing her from around her waist, and before she could react, that someone had thrown her on her back, onto the bed.

Breathless, she stared up incredulously at Gino's cheerful grin, and was overwhelmed by the urge to smack him.

"Good morning, Kouzuki~!" he greeted, drawing closer to rest his face on the palm of his hand, the tips of his unbraided hair brushing her collarbone. "Did you have a good time last night?"

_Ugh, straight to the point as usual,_ Kallen thought in exasperation. "Get off me if you want to live," she murmured through clenched teeth.

"Aww, don't be so cold!" Gino said with a pout, which would have been adorable to everyone but Kallen. He suddenly smiled. "You look pretty good in green, you know," he said, his voice softening to a suggestive murmur.

Realizing the only thing that blocked his sight from her obvious nakedness was a thin sheet of gold-and-green silk, Kallen felt her embarrassment and irritation boil over, and -- with the swift efficiency of someone trained in several martial arts -- threw Gino onto his back.

In a flurry, she jumped out of bed. "Oh, you think so?" she said aggressively, drawing the cloak tighter around herself, trying to overcome the hot, burning blush that was spreading across his face with an unrelenting confidence. "I might just take over your position as Knight of Three then, if you're so determined for me to join your precious Rounds," she declared.

Gino clapped happily. "That would be awesome! I think you'd make an excellent Knight of Three! So I take that you're agreeing, then? Shall we round up the documentation? I'm sure you can bypass a lot of the tedious selection processes if you had my recommendation ..."

Kallen blinked. "You're ... really into this, aren't you."

"Yup!" Gino climbed out of bed, suddenly towering over her, that cheerful smile still plastered to his face. Kallen took a cautious step back, keeping her gaze no lower than waist-high. "O ... oi--"

He bent to look directly into her eyes, face mere inches from hers, the deadly seriousness in his dark blue gaze betrayed only by his smile. "You'd look much better in that that I do, to be honest."

"Yeah?" Kallen said, narrowing her eyes. She smirked dangerously, a mischievous thought sparking in her head. Twirling around, she dropped the cape just below her shoulder blades, in a semi strip-tease. "I guess I'll have to keep it _on_, then?"

Gino laughed, and caught her off-guard with a quick backwards hug, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He slipped his other hand into the opening of the cloak, grazing his fingers across her bare belly. Kallen shivered involuntarily, leaning back into him. She was bothered by the fact her knees would have given away and she'd tumble ungracefully to the floor, if he wasn't already holding her up.

"You sure that's a good idea now?" he murmured softly into her ear, his face so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. "I think you can keep the Rounds waiting just a _bit_ longer ..."

_Damn,_ she thought, her plan backfiring. She could already feel herself tilting her face closer towards his, as he slowly peppered her jaw line and neck with kisses, his hands roaming dangerously across her bare skin.

Before she knew it, the cloak which started this whole mess was pooled at their feet, and the situation was fast looking like it was going to only be a repeat of last night.

_You have a point,_ Kallen thought. Though she could never bring herself to say it.


End file.
